(Editors Note: This is the second of a four part series on former “Southern Six” prep baseball products that made a name for themselves at the College World Series)

By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

With former Pascagoula High product Sean Smith set to play a vital role for West Virginia in the 2026 College World Series that starts on Friday, we took some time to go back and take a look at some past performances by some other players from the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the annual affair.

Up next is a former Biloxi Indian standout, Doug Thompson.

In the 1997 CWS championship game in Omaha, Thompson earned the pitching win as his LSU squad beat Alabama 13-6 in the final game.

With the victory, LSU became the first program to go back-to-back since Stanford did it in 1987-88 with a 13-6 victory over Alabama to clinch the title. It also still stands as the only back-to-back national titles in LSU baseball history.

He earned the win in relief against the top-seed Crimson Tide, allowing two runs on five hits over the final 4 2/3 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. His final strikeout of Alabama catcher Matt Frick ended the game and gave LSU its fourth national championship in seven seasons.

Facing a bases-loaded, one out jam in the fifth inning, the Tigers turned to Thompson. And he delivered, recording back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam.

“I always pictured myself here and winning the national championship,” Thompson told reporters after the game. “It felt like a dream.”

He was a stalwart all season for head coach Skip Bertman, going 12-3 with a 4.63 ERA and 158 strikeouts.

The right-hander posted a 24-8 LSU career record in 49 appearances (37 starts) with a 4.44 ERA and 282 strikeouts in 245.1 innings, helping lead the Tigers to the College World Series in consecutive seasons. He received 1998 second-team All-America and second-team all-SEC honors.

Thompson graduated from Biloxi High in 1994 after compiling a 20-4 record in three seasons under Indians coach Chuck Butler. At Gulf Coast Community College, Thompson developed into one of the school’s greatest pitchers. He went 26-4 in two seasons under coach Cooper Farris. As a sophomore in 1996, Thompson struck out 128 batters in only 110 innings. The Baltimore Orioles picked Thompson in the 22nd round of the 1996 Major League Baseball amateur draft, but he opted to sign with LSU.

He recently served as a part of the LSU baseball radio broadcast team.